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Nuggets rally to beat Bucks

Gallinari scores 22 as Denver comes back from 17 down

By Benjamin Hochman The Denver Post

Posted:
02/05/2013 10:56:35 PM MST

Updated:
02/05/2013 10:56:47 PM MST

Denver Nuggets forward Danilo Galinari, left, of Italy, is fouled as he goes up for a shot by Milwaukee Bucks forward Mike Dunleavy in the final minute of the Nuggets' 112-104 victory in an NBA basketball game in Denver on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
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David Zalubowski
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DENVER -- The ball didn't bounce on the rim as much as it palpitated. It did so in rhythm with 15,272 heartbeats, as the Pepsi Center crowd watched this orange tease on the rim. And then?

In transition, Gallo leaped into the air -- and into Mike Dunleavy Jr. -- and as he fell toward the ground, he somehow released a hook circus shot with his right hand. The ball danced on the rim, off the backboard, onto the rim, and in.

"The fans loved it for the tacos, I think," Gallo said with a smile, in reference to the Taco Bell promotion if Denver scores 110 points in a game. "It was an important shot."

Gallo tied Ty Lawson for a team-high 22 points in Denver's seventh consecutive win, the longest winning streak of the season for the blue and yellow.

Thankfully, fans won't be referring to this as "The Dalembert Game."

Entering the evening, Milwaukee's Samuel Dalembert averaged 5.7 points per game. His season-high was 15 points for the 31-year-old center. He shredded Denver's defense. He was just in a zone. He even hit jumpers (he's a 6-11 backup center!). By halftime, he was 10-for-11 in just nine minutes. He tied his career-high of 27 with four minutes left -- in the third! -- and in just his 12th minute of play.

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It was unreal, like that scene in "Old School," when Will Ferrell's idiot character, "Frank The Tank," has to debate political guru James Carville, and the first question is: "What is your position on the role of government in supporting innovation in the field of biotechnology?"

Ferrell, inexplicably, answers the question so eloquently that Carville said, "I have no response. That was perfect." (Later, Frank admits that he blacks out and doesn't remember the debate).

He finished the night 17-for-21 for 35 points in 27 minutes, along with 12 rebounds, seven offensive. It was bonkers.

Before the game, Nuggets coach George Karl spoke to his team about discipline. This time of the season, with the all-star break looming, some teams slip.

"If you follow the scoreboard, there are a lot of 25-point leads in the second quarter of games," he said. "It's just a time that it's difficult to keep a focus. When the separation occurs -- one team doesn't have focus, the other team has intense focus -- bad games happen."

Well, guess who trailed by 17 on their home court in the second quarter. Yes, the Nuggets dug themselves into a deep hole, allowing 42 points in the paint in the first half (Karl screamed to his team from a timeout huddle: "The whole gig is we don't give up layups."

But the game reset with 3:35 left, when a Corey Brewer dunk tied the game at 100.

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